MAKE YOUR OWN FRIGGIN’ BREAKFAST
For many years I worked as a chef in a café and the locals would flock to try my all day breakfast. I never understood why people paid for something they could make at home so easily and much cheaper. Was it the experience of eating out or perhaps they were just too lazy to make it themselves? Eventually I conceded that it was the simple techniques I used to cook my eggs.
The humble poached egg is best served on a slice of lovely whole grain toast and is one of the most health conscious ways to eat your breakfast.
First, you will need a shallow frying pan with about 5 cm of hot water and a splash of white vinegar in it. Bring it to just below boiling point. You will also need a utensil that looks like a big flat spoon with holes in it that is designed to scoop the eggs and drain the water simultaneously.
Before cracking the eggs into the water, give it a stir so that it is moving like a whirl pool. This will stop the eggs from sticking instantly to the bottom of the pan. There is a knack to getting this just right. If the water is not hot enough, the egg will disperse into a cloudy mess. The vinegar helps to keep the egg nice too. Be careful not to break the yolk. Let it simmer until all the white has coagulated and try not to disturb it too much.
Test how firm the yolk is with a gentle poke from your clean finger, as you lift it from the pan. Soft poached should take only a minute or two depending on your water. Gently lift out the egg when done, drain and serve on toast. If you like your yolks hard, cook them longer and covered with a lid, usually about 3 minutes. If you are a body builder or on a low fat/high protein diet, separate the egg before hand and only cook the whites as the yolks are higher in fat content.
Fried eggs can also be tricky. I remember my first professional egg frying class at 16 years of age. Out of twelve students there were no two fried eggs the same! Each of us had discovered a new technique to burn and mutilate them. Subsequently I learned that heat control was the secret to the perfect egg. Before you start, spray a non stick pan and gently heat it.
Crack the egg into the warm pan and leave it a couple minutes or until it reaches the desired softness for ‘sunny side up’. If you like soft yolks to form an opaque skin, cover the pan with a lid. After a minute or so, you could carefully flip them and then serve them as ‘over easy’. It amazes me, just how many waiting staff, as well as patrons, don’t understand these simple terms and yet they all seem to know exactly how they like their eggs. So now I hand the spatula over to you and repeat, ‘Heat control is the secret to the perfect egg.’
Scrambled eggs are traditionally made with milk, at least in our neighbourhood anyway. As a child I hated them because the milk would seep out of the cooked egg mixture and separate before my eyes onto my plate, reminding me of wet baby food. As an adult and a chef, I have come to love them because the mixture is so versatile in modern café cooking.
The secret to stop the watery ooze is to use cream instead of milk. Simply mix 1 part cream to 2 parts egg and your cooked egg mixture will never be watery on the plate. For each person that is about 50ml of cream and 3 eggs. Cook the mixture in a non stick frying pan and stir constantly with a rubber whisk, spatula or wooden spoon until light and fluffy.
Once again, heat control will determine the consistency and colour. If the heat is too high a skin will form on the pan and the little brown bits will discolour your eggs. If you cook it too long your eggs will be dry and form little balls. Some people actually like it like this but the desired result is a light fluffy evenly coloured moist pile plopped on your toast. No matter how you do it, some of the mixture is likely stick to the pan so try not to scratch your non stick surface, nor get brown bits in your eggs. When you are done, soak the pan in cold water a while before cleaning it.
VARIATIONS
Viking Eggs – scrambled eggs mixed with smoked salmon pieces, a few capers and a little sliced spring onion and cooked as normal. The delicate flavours combine to make a fabulous brunch served with thick sliced, toasted sour dough.
Grecian Eggs Рscrambled eggs mixed with fresh baby spinach leaves, crumbled feta cheese, spring onion slices and chopped semi dried tomatoes. Put in the leaves in the beginning as they will lose bulk in the cooking and the other ingredients lend the authentic Mediterranean flavours. Serve on toasted Turkish pide bread and you have a meal worthy of any trendy caf̩ menu.
Green Eggs & Ham – scrambled eggs with freshly chopped (washed) parsley and pesto mixed in at the last minute before completion. Serve on your favourite toast with crunchy grilled ham (or bacon) on the side.
Make your own pesto by blending in the food processor: basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and a little oil & garlic (optional).
Roman Eggs with Mushrooms – scrambled egg with a little ricotta cheese, sliced spring onions and chopped semi dried tomato at the last minute. Serve with fried mushrooms on toasted sour dough.
Now that you know the basics you can make them any way that you like them and experiment with different flavourings. Everything I have mentioned here is gluten free, except for the bread, of course. If you are on low fat diet use skimmed milk instead of cream but it won’t be anywhere as nice. You had better skip any cheese and bacon too… or maybe you should just have a bowl of oats instead…
HOME STYLE PORRIDGE
This healthy option is usually made by boiling instant oats in water but I like to do it a little differently. Instead of water cook it in the pan with milk in place of water and the end result is less gluey and more flavourful. The good thing about oats is that they are a low GI and help lower cholesterol re-absorption. The most stupid thing a customer ever asked was if porridge was gluten free?! Any product containing wheat, rye, barley or oats is not free of gluten, especially oats!
Try some of these variations to make an otherwise bland breakfast exciting.
• Banana, honey & walnut
• Grated fresh apple, cinnamon & sultanas
• Forrest berries & maple syrup
• Fresh strawberry, toasted almond flakes & honey
I hope this excites your taste buds but if you are on a diet or have an allergy to gluten ,eggs, dairy or nuts… or if you are vegan… or just plain fussy, then the only option left on today’s menu is a suggestion from my waiter friend: ‘A glass of water and a big gulp of air!’
Illustration and creation © Steve Anderson 2010. chefsrevenge@bigpond.com
